in another life
by ameriboo
Summary: "and i'd choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, i'd find you and i'd choose you." —ash & misty


‧͙⁺˚*･༓ _in another life_ ༓･*˚⁺‧͙

in another life, they crossed a single of path. it was first on a dirt road, her bike racing past him as he chased after his stubborn pikachu. they looked back at each other, with confusion; they never spoke.

in another life, he is heir and sole son of a notorious crime family. she is his protector, his bodyguard. born to die for a cause beyond her control, a tool bought by his father that will ensure his son's succession. he just wanted her to stay by his side, he never wanted her to take the bullet. he only wanted her.

in another life, her blood is from the sea and his wings soar through the skies. she is siren; he is avian. a cove hidden away from their clans. she swam towards him as he flew towards her, a fated meeting of the eyes signified an imprint that brought on a war. in the end, they hid away in the middle of old earth and became a myth that young lovers prayed to.

in another life, he was the lighthouse and she was the ship.

in another life, he lost his wallet on a train in a foreign country. his mind is so filled with his mom's warnings and her displeasure in his journey across a continent. with no money, he scavenged enough chump chain to get himself a hot tea at a café around the corner. she, the waitress, brings him a chocolate pastry alongside his drink. he blushes as he tries to explain in her language why she _shouldn't_ have but she rolls her eyes with a coy smile.

in another life, they are enrolled in university. their nation is calling for support, but the youth are sick of mindless war crimes and battles aren't apart of. he rides his motorcycle into a rally only for the police to let the dogs off the leashes. before he realizes, a girl jumps on the back of his seat, grips his waist, and shouts: "go, go, GO!"

in another life, they are born in a village of one of the great shinobi countries. he was born from a civilian mother and father who died in the last great war. she was born into a prestigious clan, whose daughters were considered brides before kunoichi. despite their heated, childish rivalry throughout academy, they are assigned to the same team. from there, fights and tears and trials occur. in the end, their team survives and are heroes of the shinobi world.

in another life, he swore loyalty to magma and she sword loyalty to aqua.

in another life, her family moved into an old husk of a cabin from the city. in the attic exploring, she finds the ghost of a kid. he doesn't remember his death, only his love for his mother's smile and his pet mouse. after the initial fear, she reads to him thus begins their friendship. she wonders why he seems upset whenever she mentions the boys at school walking her home. days turn to years. she has grown, she has aged; he hasn't. forever twelve, forever in love.

in another life, the four nations welcomed their avatar. he was chosen at age ten, born from an earth-nation non-bender mother and an unknown fire-nation father, picked up from his small village and on the run to pave a path to ensure the spirit world and their world maintained harmony. she was a lady of the northern water tribe, the youngest of four sisters with dreams of becoming a waterbending master. she runs away on a cargo ship with her stolen dowry and her baby turtleduck. they meet amid an unexpected attack from a pack of buzzard wasp in the middle of a forest, he accidentally generates a spark of lightning as they reach for each other and zaps her palm. electricity meeting water, deadly and reactive. luckily, her bending heals the worst of it, but the scar lasts a lifetime, as does their unexpected partnership.

in another life, the year is 1959, and brooklyn is home to their greaser gang of misfits. he is the leader, their golden boy. she is their righteous one, the second in command. they drink rum and cokes like its water; they dance till there is blood in their chuck taylors. in a terf battle, back to back surrounded, red dripping from their noses and fists curled tightly, it's live or let die.

in another life, they were a collection of _"not yet."_

in another life, on the infamous platform 9 ¾ at exactly 11 o'clock in the morning, he makes her late for the departing hogwarts express. the girl and her slimy tree frog almost threw the boy and his squeaking mouse hiding in his jumper into the tracks. eventually, after an eventful adventure to the academy, they are bitter strangers seated at under the sorting hat. the hat shouts gryffindor within seconds of the boy settling in; it takes time with the girl, fumbling at all her potential and her complexities before settling on slytherin. they drive the professors mad for years, mad with curiosity at from their unexpected transition from enemies to friends to…whatever their first dance at the yule ball meant.

in another life, she is a water nymph that watches the night's stars, her fingers tracing out the constellation of a young man who legends say is a hero for not his strength, but for his kindness.

in another life, he is the boy who leapt through time. a traveler cursed to be immortal, gifted by the legendaries the ability to jump through time, through multiple universes. he lives commonly, meets humans throughout the many towns and cities that shape his heart and mind. they ask him: "what are you looking for?" wearing a distant look in his eyes and a nostalgic smile, he says: "someone. someone important to me." he holds on to the memory of his former self and the girl who knew him at the beginning. must remember: _a flash of copper red hair, a voice made from a thunderstorm, lavender perfume and sea glass eyes. a flash of copper red hair, a voice made from a thunderstorm, lavender perfume and sea glass eyes—she loved you. she loved you. a flash of copper red hair, a voi—_

in another life, their heads rest together, touching, as sleep overcomes them on the subway.

in another life, there is a rolling field of wild poppies that they have laid in since they were children. he called her name, looking her way. one day, at the crisp age of sixteen, he stood up and walked away, barefoot the grass where he laid left a bed in his shape to which she looked over it and ached. looking ahead as he ran towards another girl, whose strawberry blond curls danced through the wind. he leaves her there, loving everybody, because she loves him. out the car window of his mom's car, her hands reaching out trying to grasp onto nothing, he tells her he loves _**her**_**. **she gives him a grin before keeping eyes on the road as she ached.

in another life, he is crowned prince and she is a pirate. craving adventure, he stows himself away on her docked ship. his crooked smile is so bright that she is tempted to rip each tooth out and sell on the market. she decides to "kidnap" him instead. the spoiled, arrogant bastard prince, used to getting his way, is confused and annoyed by his fascination with how the pirate carries her sword like an extension of herself.

in another life, they are best friends. it is a small coastal town in the blazing summer. it is cracked nintendo ds screen, the pastel pink one covered in stickers. it is shifts at his mom's diner. it is youth and loyalty itched in cans of pabst blue ribbon. she screams "I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD ASH I'LL TURN THIS FUCKING CAR AROUND—SHUT THE FUCK UP" on the fast rides in her beat up blue volkswagen. their group of friends with the hot strobe lights, getting high and stale beer. exams and extracurriculars are the dangerous es. their future is near but he yells to her, late at night: "i hope that we never die."

in another life, she dares him to jump off the roof and when he does, jumps right after him in fear. the fools, the pair of them.

in another life, fate brought him into her life as the chosen one. she was born into a family of bohemian travelers and her sisters were hired to perform at the emperor's grandson's celebration. the chosen one lived and grew alongside the royal family. at the first sight of chosen one, her instincts sparked into madness and she charged herself at him like crashing wave meeting earth. she served as his protector, an iron string in the fabric of their kingdom. she tasted his food, healed his wounds, and fought for his existence. he wiped the blood from her hands softly, kissed the scars and calloused spots. he told her she mattered, that he is saved by the fact that she exists. it didn't end in matrimony, it was a time in history that the love held between them wasn't defined, it was a love where they two mutually inspire each other to _live_.

in another life, she just lost her husband of forty years. she takes a trip far from all she knew. she takes a chance on a new beginning and fills her life up with books and cups of tea in an unfamiliar city. she meets him in a park by a pond, his hair a salt n' pepper and eyes a familiar deep amber. god, are they old. he takes a seat beside her on the wooden bench. for hours they sat, but within seconds, they knew.

in another life, they adopt a child. their baby, their missing piece.

in another life, the world is being thrown into a frenzy as earth enters a war with the kaiju, interdimensional monsters that emerged from the bottom of the pacific ocean. chosen to represent japan, they become a pair of rookie co-pilots for their own jaeger. the first drift brought on her smashing her fist into his stomach. the last drift brings on tears, confessions and understanding as they stitched the breach into nothing, leaving their legacy with the sea.

in another life, she shampoos him, cuts up his fruit and writes him love letters. he holds the small of her back as they cross the street, makes her coffee, and kisses her wrist after a fight. it was a life shared together, in that apartment downtown, and it simpler (complex) than most.

in another life, it is too late for them. he boards a bullet train to live with his father in the country, dreaming of traveling the world and studying anthropology. he is a goof, a golden boy. she is labeled delinquent; a raw misfit who clings onto kindness as if she is hanging off a cliff. she stands at the end of the station, watching him board with her hand in the air, her head held high. he waves through the window and shouts something she can't hear. she held them in until she couldn't see him anymore, the bittersweet tears fall as her fist love leaves. thousands of sentences cross her mind, a pain in her chest calling out to him. the unspoken words left at the station: _i'm so glad to have met you. thank you._

in another life, a girl fished a boy out of the bottom of a waterfall. unknown to the children, brazen and foolish, one soul said to the other, "oh, it's _you_."

‧͙⁺˚*･༓ _the end_ ༓･*˚⁺‧͙


End file.
